Secular Jews in a Jewish State?

Israel is the only nation with a Jewish majority. But within that majority it is mainly secular. (Rosenthal, 222) This may seem paradoxical, and on some levels it is. But what can be said is that even with this seemingly strange setup, they are still Jews, and depending on their level of religiosity, act accordingly.

A few questions pop up. Why are they secular, and how can they still be Jews? Is being secular in a Jewish state against what Israel stands for? It is an odd situation, but for Israelis, it almost makes perfect sense.

The reason for the majority of Jewish Israelis being secular has much to do with its history. A large number of secular Jews emigrated before the foundation of the State, and with their socialist attitudes, helped found the modern state. They were more concerned with things like building cities than maintaining the Sabbath. It is their legacy (and sheer numbers) and helps continue this trend in Israel.

But how can they still be Jews? Where is the line drawn? Can you be "more Jewish" than others? To be Jewish, one must perform the rituals and commandments of the Bible. You do not need to actually believe in God and still be Jewish. So while they may not actively do these deeds, it is almost like the state subsidizes it for them. You cannot be in Israel and not see how it is Jewish. From Biblical symbols in the government to the presence of Hebrew, it's everywhere. (Rosenthal, 222) Religious men walking down the street, bus ads wishing people a happy (Jewish) holiday, or encounters with synagogues. It's obvious.

Apart from simply seeing it, one can feel Jewish and almost do nothing. (Rosenthal, 223) In the USA, if one is not actively Jewish, you risk assimilating for good. No one will prompt you about it, remind you a holiday is coming up, or invite you to go to temple on Saturday morning. But we cannot assume all secular Jews are passive to Judaism.

There are different "levels" of Judaism, just as there are divides in almost any religion (Catholics vs Protestants, Lutherans vs Baptists, Sunnis vs Sufi). It ranges from the most lenient Reform, moves onto the more Conservative movement, and finally enters the Orthodox. Yet even within the Orthodox there are many layers. And seemingly the deeper you enter Orthodoxy the more Jewish one is. If there is any way to "measure" one's Jewishness, consult how much they perform their rituals and commandments.

Yet many try to remain Jewish in creative ways. Communities organize reenactments for their children, not only to have fun but to teach them of their history and holidays. Another more common activity is a sort of "alternative service". In an age when it is too easy to lose track of many things, including one's religion, it is important to be ever more active, even if not in the traditional ways. Many of those who partake in the very loosely acted reenactments (we're not expecting the sets for "The Ten Commandments") and services feel that they are the in the middle of Judaism, and that the traditional ways of dividing the Jews (aside from backgrounds) do not apply. And their voice is spreading.

I used the Rosenthal book and a news article to help articulate my thoughts on Israel's secular majority. The book is very useful in giving a large general picture. The news article, although speaking about a particular event and thing, helps demonstrate how a particular group of secular Jews in Israel keep the religion. I find the article trustworthy and reliable since it deals with the material in the book well and only helps my point of view on the issue.

The IDF, a people's army

Some countries, like the United States, see the military as a part of the government, but not themselves. Unless of course they enlist. But overall it's a thing, like astronauts, that we can like, watch on the news, but not truly interact with. In Israel, this is different. Over there, military service is mandatory for most of the population (religious Jews and Arabs get an exemption). It is a country in which many of its borders and neighbors are in a state of war with it. Where tensions run high. Where the Army is one of the most important aspects of the state. It can always be called upon to do its duty.

History and geography have much to do with it. Since it's founding, its been fighting. Whether other armies or insurgents, something is causing problems. But we must take into account its size. It's a small nation, in which its major cities are reachable within an hour. Thus its relatively small population and its sizable army in proportion to it makes the Israeli presence much easier to find. It is not uncommon to see soldiers off guard with a rifle loaded in the mall or on the street.

But there, since conflict is so normal, the military is also normal. In the United States, police are common, and only in high value places like an airport or government buildings would I see men armed with rifles. But even so they do not seem to be military. But with a full time force of 140,000, I am not surprised that soldiers are just so common in Israel. In total numbers though, its army can reach up to around three million, with reserves. This is a huge number in proportion to population as stated earlier.

But some aspects of the military are rather unique to Israel. Take its air force. Seen as one of the best in the world, it is trained to fight all sorts of enemies. It is normal to expect a jet fighter to fight other jets, or watch out for anti aircraft fire. But not birds. Since Israel is not only small but within the the crossroads of Africa, Asia and Europe, birds get funneled into this narrow corridor. It has lost more aircraft to birds than all the wars it fought combined. But even so they find ways to avoid bird concentrations and minimize damages (each jets costs millions of dollars).

It is also unique in that it is under constant scrutiny and criticism from the world. Every raid, every patrol, every mission, every operation is seen negatively in the international media. Whether or not they commit actual atrocities is irrelevant. To the best of the IDF's efforts, civilian casualties are minimized, and collateral damage to be low. But modern warfare, let alone urban warfare, makes this very hard. When it comes to destroying bunkers or weapons caches, how is an army meant to get rid of it without destruction? Can a tunnel just be simply filled up? No you blow it up and that's it.

Overall, the sources I used I feel are reliable. The main source was the Rosenthal book, and I trust her views and information. It is a well thought out and written book, and does not seem to contradict what I know about the Israeli military or its actions. The CIA World Factbook on the other hand is all about numbers, and if the Cold War and the War on Terror has taught us anything, it's that they know their stuff on a global scale. Not everything, but most of it.